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Advice on Hauling NUCs

Any advice on how to stack and haul 300-400 NUCS about 700 miles would be appreciated. These are for delivery in cardboard boxes. Does anyone box them before hauling them? seems like the cardboard wouldn't hold up Then again I don't really seem myself boxing nucs in some abandoned parking lot or roadside.

I've got deeps divided as double nucs, a bunch of single nucs with solid bottoms, a few with detachable bottoms (those have to go). Guess the first advice would be to standardize but should probably know how I am going to haul them first - appreciate advice on what to standardize on.

"Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes"
Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Re: Advice on Hauling NUCs

jean how are your pallets made would you have any pictures i also am trying to figure out a good way to move a couple hundred nucs this year to FL maybe just picking them up and straping them to a pallet.?

Re: Advice on Hauling NUCs

How far between fill ups for your truck?

I'd haul the nucs w/ vent holes/entrances open and under a net. I'd haul them at night, if possible. It could be a little cooler, perhaps. Also, find truck stops that have water hoses available and wet the load down when you stop for fuel.

I don't know about stacking them. Maybe you'd want to make a row and then lay two 1x4s on top of the nucs before making your next layer. And then a plank on top to run your strap across, so you aren't crushing the outside nuc boxes w/ the strap. Are you using straps?

Just some thoughts. Good luck. Get them earlier next year so it's cooler when you move them.

Re: Advice on Hauling NUCs

Thanks for the ideas.
I started using straps after I dropped a chest freezer on the highway one day. Semi passed me and blew the thing right out of the back of the truck. The truck can drive further than I can so ventilation is important.

I can palletize my NUCs 2 rows of 4 per pallet and strap them down and my double NUCs fit a standard pallet. I use three 1" screened holes per NUC for ventilation (1 front, 2 in back) but I am going to have to redo the lids to add cleats.

What I don't like is having to transfer them into cardboard NUCs on delivery but hauling cardboard Nucs seems dicey unless you have a reefer which I don't. Appreciate your advice on the heat, I'm not moving any more this summer but want to do it better (right) next year.

How do most folks deliver bulk NUCs? I am using cardboard for the 1 to 10 customers but just getting into 50+ sales.

"Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes"
Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Re: Advice on Hauling NUCs

I would consider delivering them in the card board already. That way they will be in uniform equipment and easy stacking for air flow and an easy load to strap. It is the units in the center that heat up the most so air flow is key in these areas. We us a gap between the rows and between every tier or two if it is going to be a tall load. Some pallets or boards on top keep the straps from crushing the valuables is also recommended. I would not want to have to install a bunch of freshly moved nucs after a long drive if at all possible. Working with oriented organized field bees is so much easier.

I have seen improperly stacked nucs cook in as little as 65 degree weather, so be careful. I would go at night with a net and as much air flow as possible.

Re: Advice on Hauling NUCs

Originally Posted by wfarler

What I don't like is having to transfer them into cardboard NUCs on delivery but hauling cardboard Nucs seems dicey unless you have a reefer which I don't. Appreciate your advice on the heat, I'm not moving any more this summer but want to do it better (right) next year.

A friend of mine bought 125 nucs from a guy who delivered them from FL. But first he had gone to Michagan or Wisconsin. After his stop in NY he was headed for RI. This guy used plastic corrogated nuc boxes and had hundreds on his truck. He hand loaded them w/ two 1X4s on top of each row and then he netted the whole load w/ straps only tight enough to hold the net down. His boxes have ventilation holes front and back. There was space between each row.

If I knew his name I'd tell you and you could talk to him. I'll try to get it.

Re: Advice on Hauling NUCs

I do use a lot of cardboard nucs, from MDspliter. Never had a problem. They can put them in nucs few days before you pick them up and if the entrance is open the bees won't chew the cardboard.
They have very good ventilation but they dont like rain.
Travel at night and I think you will be fine.
Good luck Gilman

Re: Advice on Hauling NUCs

The beekeeper that I buy my nucs from uses corrugated plastic nucs with thick wire style handles. You can cross them over each other to keep the lid on, or when set side by side you can overlap them so it locks the nucs together. I have seen him transporting a lot of nucs this way on the back of a flatbed. There are a number of plastic plugs for ventilation on these and it seems to do a good job. He uses rope and straps to secure them to the bed of the truck.

I hope I have explained this well enough for you to get an idea. I don't know where they got these, but they look to have seen many seasons. There are also plenty of unintentional vent holes on these, as I can attest to personally. Real fun at night when they are crawling not flying.

Re: Advice on Hauling NUCs

A friend of mine bought 125 nucs from a guy who delivered them from FL. But first he had gone to Michagan or Wisconsin. If I knew his name I'd tell you and you could talk to him. I'll try to get it.

That guy was Kevin Jester of Jester Bee. (I was his stop in Michigan.)

If I recall correctly, the nuc boxes were arranged in rows with a sheet of Masonite, with 1x4 "spacers" placed to keep air space between groupings of boxes, and to keep the corrugated plastic nucs from sliding around. The Masonite itself distributes pressure, allowing the nucs to be stacked higher and allows you to carry more nucs on a truck/trailer, and allowing tighter strapping without crushing boxes.

Between rows of nucs (front to back), there was a few inches of air space also.

Re: Advice on Hauling NUCs

I'm afraid I don't know if Kevin sells the boxes, but I will say that they ARE very nice nucs. (I'm planning on calling him to see if he'll sell me some, or tell me who his supplier is.) They're made of a durable corrugated plastic, with a hinged lid that stays with the box. Ventilation isn't as good as it could be, however, and it's easy for the bees to overheat.

Conversely, Mel Disselkoen's MDA Splitter boxes incorporate excellent ventilation and are also nice. But, being made of waxed (the type I use) cardboard, they aren't nearly as durable as Kevin Jester's boxes which should hold up to several years worth of use and weather. (I've been asking Mel for years now to make his boxes out of corrugated plastic, which he had in the past, but because of new die costs, he just won't do it.)

Both non-wood nuc box solutions are good for moving bees, in my opinion. One is just a little better than the other, but both are lighter than woodenware and don't require equipment deposits from your customers.

Also, I don't want to hijack the thread, so I'll post a review of Jesterbee in the Reviews section here later. Let's just say that Kevin was good to work with and he'll go out of his way to make good on any problems that arise.